Sir Ken Robinson

     If you have never heard a TED Talk by Sir Ken Robinson, you should. He believes, “We are educating people out of their creativity”. This rendition of Changing Education Paradigms  is creatively illustrated by RSA Animate, so it also interesting to watch. He urges that a change be made to how we educate children, which should be different from how children were educated before the technology boom. He also believes that there is not an ADHD epidemic, but rather children are being (over) medicated so they will not be so distracted within the intensely stimulating world we live in. He feels there is a connection between the increase in cases of ADHD and the increase in standardized testing. We, as future teachers, need to be aware of how each student needs to learn. Some students’ behaviors are influenced by the size of groupings, times of the day, or merely interest in subject matter. Robinson has given me a lot to think about on the subject of education and how to become an effective teacher!

(another interesting TED Talk by Robinson Do Schools Kill Creativity?)

Netflix and Learn

     Besides the obvious enjoyment factor that everyone gets from watching their favorite television shows, there are educational uses for Netflix. Just like with many unique technology ideas, the more diverse classes that are offered, the more a student can learn from a variety of areas and different methods.

     Many educators would scoff at the idea of bringing in Netflix or another streaming service for an education purpose; mostly because it costs money. That being said, a school would only really need one account and that runs $7.99 a month. The administrator could also lock certain movies or other parts from being used that a teacher may try to abuse. Another reason the school district may have a problem with it is because parents may not be thrilled to hear your school has Netflix. "They'll just be watching movies all day" a parent might think. Just like with so many things, it depends on how you are using it.

     I do use Netflix at home, mostly for shows, but after exploring a little more, there are places where education can be used. There is a category for documentaries that range from autobiographies on celebrities to global warming, the drug trade, terrorism and history. While looking, there was a documentary called "World War II in color" which obviously could be used in a history class. A geography class can use ones on global warming or on making the world green again. There are even some on cooking that a home education class could use once in a while for practical uses. A Spanish or french class could use this to watch foreign films to test their knowledge of the material. Although, the point this would make the most sense for would be a psychology class. Shows like "Making of a Murderer" or "Inside Out" can be analyzed for different purposes. Even horror movies like "Silence of the Lambs" can be useful, but permission slips would have to be given out. For a criminology class, "NCIS" or "Criminal Minds" can work to teach about the solving of crimes and how the evidence is tied together.

     Teachers have been showing movies in classes for years. Sometimes for educational purposes, and other times because it's almost Thanksgiving break and everyone is tired of learning. By using Netflix, in the right way, students can get an enriched learning experience by being able to analyze, for lack of a better word, real world problems. Movies are not just always for entertainment purposes, but to make people stop and think about life and what needs to be fixed.

Standing Desks!

     Since I have "liked" the We Are Teachers page on Facebook I have been exposed to many inspiring ideas. This one I think is brilliant! A standing desk! With a fidget bar! The article that I read contains a link to the story that was done on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt about the AlphaBetter Desk from Safco. Watch it!

http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2016/02/18/why-i-decided-getting-rid-of-my-classroom-furniture-was-the-best-thing-for-my-kids

     There have been classrooms that I have been in recently that this option would have been perfect for some of the students. Students can quietly move the fidget bar and the teacher would not have to constantly say "sit down". Also, there is the option to have a stool for those student who choose not to stand at any point in the day. These desks are a couple hundred dollars a piece...but, may just be a valuable investment.

"A Maths Dictionary for Kids"

While helping my daughter research for a brochure that she needed to create on a famous mathematician I came across a really great website.

http://amathsdictionaryforkids.com/

(*there actually is an “s” after math in the title of this webpage)

The sites “Quick Reference” gives great definitions and examples of many (if not all) mathematical terms and functions. The “Interactive Original” is similar to the quick reference, but gives the opportunity to try sample problems that are corrected right there on the page. The “Math Charts” section contains just as many printables to use within a classroom. I thought this site was pretty cool!

Purdue OWL instructional material

In high school I had a specific English teacher that always had the class write essays in APA format. She first introduced this writing style to the class and I in ninth grade. She would always mention that one day we would need to know this to complete college papers. I somewhat believed her because of course they always say you "need" to learn certain material for the real world. So in my first year of college we didn't use APA formatting at all. Needless to say the next year we did, and I was sort of shocked. A lot of my classmates were clueless as to what APA formatting was. Many had heard of it but never used it before. In high school my English teacher introduced us to the Purdue OWL website. This is how I learned most of what I know on APA formatting. It gives you step by step instructions, of course your professor may want things a certain way. 

Purdue OWL also gives you MLA formatting instructions. Which is what most people I know are accustomed to using. In general I think this website is a great tool to use. It is free and certainly very handy. I have used it plenty of times and it never fails to rescue me. 

Pinterest

Pinterest focuses on visuals and base on bookmarking site. A bookmark allows users to pin something, when you share an image. However, sharing another person pin is called repin. People could share an image by directly uploading an image from any website. This would allow users to share their pins in Facebook and Twitter. Users must join Pinterest, but other people could search images on Pinterest without having an account. Pinterest was created as a media platform for personalizing pictures. There are many ways teachers could use Pinterest as a class project. For example, students could create an account for English class for an assigned book. Teachers could ask students for each chapter they must post a place that the book describes. They could share their place with their classmate and share them easily with one another. This would help students remember places in an organized way. 

https://www.pinterest.com

Blendspace

This past week the class was introduced to Blendspace which sounds like the ultimate quick lesson planning tool a teacher could have. It’s perfect for creating guides to homework problems and resources for students to refer to. It could be used for flipped classrooms and for test reviews. It’s a great tool to have for emergency lessons if students don’t understand. Students can get lost in the lectures and text so this multimedia applicator is a great alternative to everyday teaching. Personally this is my favorite technology tool I have been introduced to.   I don’t see using Blendspace as an alternative to teaching a whole lesson but it’s helpful in getting the important factors in a lesson through the students. I see multiple possibilities with using Blendspace. I checked out some of the featured lessons and found great resources for teachers to suggest to students. You can even have upper level student create their own study guides for each other or even mini lessons for extra credit. Teachers can asses students understanding using the comments, work and quizzes. 

Here is a link featuring lessons on Blendspace: https://www.tes.com/lessons/gallery?redirect-bs=1

Online Textbooks vs. Paper Textbooks

As long as people have been going to formal school there have always been paper textbooks used in teaching kids in school. Now, years later, that we have made new technologies and new ways in which you can use them, I ask you which do you prefer? I only recently started buying my textbooks on my Kindle in online versions. I believe that there are good and bad things to both types of books. One down side to online books is that not everybody can have access to a computer or tablet or smart phone to be able to read their textbooks. There is an up side though, with online books you have more access to tools like a dictionary right there in the book and other tabs where you can write notes right in the spot where you need them. Sure you can do this with a paper textbook but you have to have a separate piece of paper for the notes, with the online book everything is right there all in one place. Now with paper textbooks they are easier for everybody to get. They're always going to be around, because people are never going to stop printing books. But one big down side for these kind of textbooks are the prices of each textbook. Online books are always cheaper then paperback textbooks, that's one reason why I started buying my books on my Kindle because i was tired of spending so much money. Also my Kindle isn't as hard on my back as paper textbooks are.   

Drawbacks of Technology

  This past weekend I was babysitting my neighbor who is a young boy in first grade. I was prepared for a night of Nerf gun fights, reading stories, and playing games. However, when I got there I was surprised to see him already perched in a chair on his iPad. When I asked him if he wanted to play, his response was "Sure, wanna see what games I have on the iPad?" The rest of the night was composed of the same occurrences. This led me to wonder, if technology has this much influence over kids at homes, how is it affecting them in the classroom?
  As I was searching the web for more information, I came across this video that explains two very different classrooms. One setting uses absolutely no technology at all and in the other, each student has their own iPad. While I do believe that technology is a great tool when used correctly and for relevant lessons, I do feel that overuse of it takes away from the learning experience. When the school that uses no technology at all is shown, the students are fully engaged and taking part in various hands-on activities. These students seem to be genuinely excited about their learning and their parents have no concerns about them being behind technologically. They can use the technology at home, but in the classroom learning is hands-on.
  It is concerning that students today barely know how to write because everything today is typed out on tablets and computers. Even coloring can be done on these devices. Is this taking away from early childhood education? As the video does state, we will not know the full effect technology has over students for many more generations, but it is certainly something to look into.

Spending For Education

I came across a recent article that discussed spending for educational technology is increasing.  The rationale for this increase in spending for educational technology is because of the innovations in assessment and market demand. The article also noted that at least twenty-seven to forty-six percent of districts will increase their spending on educational technology, while eight to twelve percent may have to unfortunately make some cuts.  

The areas in which the spending has increased by thirty-eight to forty-six percent were hardware and teacher training.  Ironically, other districts have cut tech support and teacher training. In terms of hardware, the study provided that laptops and tablets were bought the most in the hardware category.  Interactive displays are also another big purchase being made by districts like interactive whiteboards and projectors.  

It was also noted that schools are gradually shifting from physical to digital materials.  The schools rationale for making this shift is because they want to enhance learning, but in a relevant way.  This new enhancement will eventually give way to flipped classrooms. 

Along with the statistics, the article also discussed some current trends of technology being integrated into classrooms.  One current trend is the bring your own device program, in which students bring their own device to class and utilize it to access a wide variety of programs.  Another current trend that is prevalent in classrooms right now is that high schools are now offering online classes, but students still meet with the instructor at school.  Finally, schools are even implementing tighter security restrictions with the demand of technology, since their have been new concerns with privacy policies.  Consequently, the increase in demand for technology in the classroom has created this issue.  

Fundraiser Idea...

Need a fundraiser for your school? Keep this website in mind. It is a great program! Students collect pledges either through online donations to their website link or as cash. The service only charges a minimal fee for set up, maintaining web sites for each child, and only in our area (South East Michigan) they come to the event and run the show. They stretch with the kids, the mascot joins in, they play music, dance, run, walk, and the kids have a blast. This past year our grade school raised over $20,000. That was with only about 55% (about 250 students) participation in raising funds. It is a lot of fun…all students participate whether they were able to secure funds or not. It is a great way to promote physical fitness and raise school funding! Our PTO has sponsored this program for a couple years and this past year was able to purchase iPads for some classrooms. With candy, wrapping paper, or similar fundraising most schools generate profits of about 30% of the total collected…with this company your program will generate profits closer to 85-90% of total collected.

http://www.thegetmovincrew.com/home

Importance of fine motor skills

            I recently came across an article titled “Losing our grip: More students entering schools without fine motor skills”. I’m not an Early Childhood Major, but I definitely see the effects of this in the lower elementary classrooms that I have been in recently.

http://lancasteronline.com/features/trending/losing-our-grip-more-students-entering-school-without-fine-motor/article_c0f235d0-7ba2-11e5-bf0d-5745f74f9717.html#.VjZUgsUWIdI.facebook

            The article reports that as many as 90% of students enter Kindergarten without enough hand strength or coordination to use scissors. Also, more than ½ hold a pencil incorrectly. Valuable time is being taken away from lessons in order to reteach skills that are traditionally introduced at home earlier in a child’s life. It not only costs classroom time, but districts are losing money by hiring Occupational Therapist at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Much can be blamed on technology. Gone are the days of children waiting in restaurants for food with crayons and a coloring sheet, now parents unconsciously hand over an electronic device.

            The article suggests skills that could be taught in the home, things that were commonplace before the introduction of video game systems. Tummy time as infants to build core, arm and hand strength, playing with dough or putty, stringing beads or pasta, and zipping, snapping or tying (no Velcro).

This is the writing of a 4^th grader (10 years old) that I recently subbed for…

…it just makes me sad.

(This student told his teacher that I was his aunt, but I am friends with his aunt.)

Technology for Special Education Students

As a future Special Education teacher with a lack of interest for technology, I've always had this misconception about using technology with special needs kids. With a focus in learning disabilities, I find it hard at times to think of ways to incorporate technology into the curriculum and even in every day lessons and activities. I may also come across an activity but will shortly become concerned that it may be too difficult for these students to accomplish and will not accommodate to their needs. So, I decided to search for state Special Education standards with technology and stumbled upon a page that gave quick facts about Special Education and new technologies that are created specifically for these students. A link to this website is linked below.

http://www.masters-in-special-education.com/technology/

This page was very informative, to me especially, and I learned about some amazing new devices and programs that were created for these kids in mind. Some of the facts and statistics that I learned from this page was that 7 million students in public schools across the U.S. are in Special Education programs and these programs have increased by 30% in the past decade. This page also conveniently broke down the percentages of specific disabilities students have, with learning disabilities claiming the largest portion with 51% of students, and speech or language impairments leading in at 21%. Because of the steadily increasing amount of special needs students, the amount of technologies geared for this audience has increased as well. These devices are simply fascinating and make learning much more feasible for students. One of these devices or programs is called Nova Chat, a program made for students with reading disabilities. This device is able to read text aloud and speech can be converted to text. These devices are quite expensive and require multiple sources of funding for schools to claim them. Fortunately, there is funding for these technologies and support will continue to be given as long as this program is needed.

IXL is the next best thing in learning

        IXL is a website that is for school aged kids from pre-K through 12th. This website helps kids with math, language arts, social studies, and science. In each of these different subject matters there is so much information the kids can learn. If a child needs help in the subject of math, there are links that go all the way up to Algebra 2 and pre-calculus. On these links there are sample questions that children can answer. If they get the wrong answer there is an explanation of the right answer. This would be great for those trying to figure out math at home. When you look into the other subject matters the one that give the most information is the language arts. This gives the students everything they need to know about phonics and how to use it properly. This is real important for those that need the extra help in learning how to write a sentence, or even how to search for the components of a sentence. This website https://www.ixl.com/ will help a lot of kids and parents learn and for teachers to teach their children a different way of approaching learning.

Bring Technology into Schools

     Today's blog is not on a specific technology, but rather a call to use more of it in classrooms. Yes, we are all aware of how expensive it is to bring technology into the classrooms, train students in using it and keeping it updated and all the other software that is needed to run the machines. That being said, wouldn't the rewards balance out the hassle of setting it up in the long run?

     Take for example using whiteboards in classrooms. Once the teacher figures out how to use them, the options are endless. It is basically a computer that everyone can see. It is hooked up to your computer and the whole class can see it, plus it is touchscreen, and there are markers that you can write with on the board! Instead of dealing with chalkboards and traditional whiteboards that can be a mess, these are clean with barely any mess. The most beneficial aspect of all this is the ability to do group presentations that involved a variety of technology. After all, many students will be going into business and engineering and those jobs use technology as an aid in presenting material. They might as well get used to it in high school before heading to college and out into a real job so they already have their feet wet.

     Besides the smart boards, having laptops computers or iPad's in classrooms would really make be useful. Having students search, find, and use information will be vital to their work experience later. A lot students already know how to surf the web and find information, like finding videos, what hour their favorite store opens, etc... but not many know how to find real information that will help them in a job. You ask someone to sift through the New York Times and find the latest story about Russian-American relations, many wouldn't know where to begin. They can take the starting experience from their work and use it as a springboard, but there is more growing to do. Students will have to learn the difference between a reliable source and something that anyone can write on and how to cite the material.

     Putting material into classrooms is not just about incorporating it into a lesson just so a teacher can say they are fulfilling some quota of technology, but rather to teach them to use it so once they get into the real world, they will be able to use it and be successful; which is the whole point of education.

Is learning a new language possible?

In middle school and high school I took a few years of Spanish. At that point in my life, I just took it because I had to. I thought learning a different language was useless, I already spoke English. Now, in Spanish I can count to ten, name about half the colors, and say a few other words. Looking back I wish I would have paid my Spanish classes more attention. It would be very helpful to be able to speak another language. There are many times, that I wish I could speak another language. I never thought I would actually start learning another language, until I came across Memrise.

Memrise is a free app that can be used on any mobile device or computer. This app lets you pick from many categories, teaches lessons, and then quizzes you. The categories range from languages, to science, to math. Each category has different levels. You can start at the beginning and work your way up, or start at a higher level if you would like. At the end of the quizzes, the app gives you a report. The report includes your score and time, and can help track your progress over time. Memrise also allows you to interact with other members and create groups with friends.

Memrise can be used to touch up basic skills, or to learn an entirely new topic. This is useful for students who are behind or new extra time studying. This can also be helpful to foreign students, learning a new language and culture. This app can also be used as trivia in the classroom, or even at home for fun. Overall, if you plan on memorizing any new material, Memrise is an app that is very helpful.

http://www.memrise.com/home/

Comic Life

What I remember from elementary school is reading, writing, and more reading and writing. It was not until middle school that I remember using fun activities to learn certain skills. I believe that children need to have a mix of traditional work and fun work. One tool that I found to help add fun into lessons is the comic life.

The comic life is an app that is free to download on any computer. You can also buy the app in the app store for $4.99. There is also updated versions that are more expensive, but I personally like the original version. This app can be used not only to make comic strips, but also scrapbooks, brochures, cards, books, or anything you can come up with. To get started you choose a template, which there are over 200 to choose from. Next, you can add photos and text. Once you have all the context, you can add filters, text containers, and thought bubbles. When you are done with the comic, you can save it and share it with others, or print it for yourself.

Comics are great to use in classrooms, because students have the freedom to make their comic unique. The uses of comic life are endless. They can be used for storytelling, book reports, sequencing events, plot or character analysis, timelines, grammar and punctuation, following directions, etc.. Comics can be used through all subjects, and can be used from very early grades all the way though high school. Comic life is a great tool that can help teach many challenging concepts and show the student's creativity as well.

http://comic-life.en.softonic.com/

Zoho office suite

Zoho is a free office suite much like Google Docs.  It is marketed as an operating system for businesses, but it could be used in many ways in schools.  The school-related features include the tools within the email and collaboration category, including mail, chat, docs, projects, connect, meetings, and showtime.  Some of these features are commonly used, such as the mail, chat, and docs.  However, some of the features could have very interesting uses in the school setting.  The projects feature of Zoho could be very useful for students working as a team on a group project.   Milestones, charts, and time sheets all are useful tools for students who are new to teamwork.  This would be a great way to get students to assign roles and hold each other accountable for their work.  Zoho’s meeting tool has a wide variety of features.  This tool is useful for teachers who want to instantly share their screen with the class.  The connect tool is like a social media tool with a variety of features.  Although the verbiage in the description targets employees and not students, this tool would be a good way to get students communicating about a topic for a class project.  Overall, Zoho does have a great variety of tools that are similar to Google Docs, however, the software is better suited for businesses and employees than schools and students.  

Concept Mapping with Bubbl.us

Graphic organizers have long been used in the classroom to facilitate learning and literacy.  Concept mapping is a type of graphic organizer that is commonly seen in science classes.  Concept maps can be made with traditional pencil and paper, word processing software, or online tools.  Bubble.us is an online concept mapping tool that is very useful.  It can be used on a computer, iPad, or iPhone, but is unavailable on android devices.  This tool is free for the first three uses and then costs $59 per year.  There are a variety of ways the concept maps can be set up (here are a few examples).  Teachers have mixed reviews of Bubble.us, with some saying that it is easy to use and others complaining about the cost of the tool.  The tools in Bubble.us are easy to use and there are a variety of colors to choose from in order to tier the concepts visually.  Users can also insert pictures into their concept map.  One of the issues with Bubble.us is the concept map is difficult to modify after it has already been created.  Although it is easy to change the text or add a new connection, deleting a connection changes the color hierarchy.  Also, the display of a single concept with multiple sub-concepts could be improved.  Here is a video review of Bubble.us and a demonstration of how it works.  

Pogil activities in science classrooms

Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning, or Pogil, is a website with a plethora of resources for teachers.  The goal of Pogil is to facilitate student self-guided exploration and challenge students to think of new solutions.  There are seven process skills that students can develop through using Pogils in the classroom, including teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, communication, management, assessment, and information processing.  Pogil was originally created for use in post-secondary chemistry education but has since expanded to high school as well.  Teachers can attend workshops to earn professional development credit and gain access to the valuable Pogil material.  There are a wide variety of classroom resources that are available for teachers to purchase.  These books include many in-class inquiry activities that can be copied and passed out in class for students to work on.  In science classes, inquiry-based education is becoming more and more accepted.  These activities facilitate the transition from traditional instruction to inquiry-based instruction.  For anyone interested in using Pogil worksheets in their classroom, go here to get step-by-step guidance.  In general, science teachers really appreciate Pogil activities because of their ease of use and appropriate high school science content.

Wikinews: collaborative news writing

Wikinews is a website that facilitates collaborative authorship of news articles.  When visiting the page, users can browse through articles that are already published or collaborate on a new news article.  Wikinews strives to present information in an unbiased way and from all angles.  This tool is much like Wikipedia in how it functions and how it looks, but the main difference is that the content is news focused and Wikipedia is reference focused.  Wikinews can be displayed in a wide variety of languages, making it accessible for students that are English language learners.   

Wikinews is useful in the classroom in many ways and the website encourages teachers to use it in their classroom.  With a short welcome video and an overview of Wikinews’ core principals, teachers are given a broad overview of how to incorporate news writing into their classroom.  The site offers possible goals to consider when creating a lesson using Wikinews as well as possible classroom topics.  The Wikinews Writing Guide written by Laura Hale provides an overview of everything a teacher would need to know to incorporate Wikinews in the classroom.  

YouTube: Probably a Curse, but Possibly a Blessing

As I am sure all of my fellow digital natives are aware, most schools have blocked access to YouTube. Why would schools do such a thing? It is clearly because all teachers simply want to watch the world burn. No, it is because YouTube is primarily used for entertainment not education. Thus, YouTube would cause more harm than good and result in students becoming distracted.

When reminiscing on my glory days of high school, I can fondly remember all of the amazing things I learned when in the computer room. The teacher would provide the class with instructions for our power point presentations on foreign countries and tirelessly explain that Africa is a continent, not a country. Once the teacher's instructions were finished and I had wiped away the drool from my mindless day dreaming, I spun around and approached the keyboard with furious determination to complete the assignment. I had the world in the palm of my hands; I could do anything. But with great power comes great responsibility. I abused that responsibility. By the time I had logged into the computer, the assignment's instructions were snuggled up in the back of my mind while procrastination took the driver's seat. The first thing I did was to try and see what websites I could get into were blocked. Facebook? Nope. Addicting Games? Nothing. YouTube? Double nope. I guess I was going to have to settle for playing chess against the computer. The point I am trying to make is that, if there is a will there is a way. Even though there was several obstacles placed in front of me, I still found a way to avoid my responsibilities. But instead of completely blocking websites for being possible distractions, educators could use websites such as YouTube as possible learning tools.

Although YouTube is blocked to the students, teachers are commonly given access to the website. This access to YouTube has allowed teachers to use the vast amounts of visual resources to provide supplementary learning tools to the students. For example, in my senior year of high school we were required to read Johnny Got His Gun. The idea of man with no arms, legs, or face that constantly refers to flashbacks told through advance vocabulary can be difficult for a young learner to understand. But my English teacher presented us the music video to Metallica's "One." The song was inspired by the book and the music video contained many references to the book. This extra reference allowed many of us in the classroom to gain the understanding we needed to get through the rest of the book. If it wasn't for YouTube I probably would have completely forgotten about Johnny Got His Gun. Now what if we gave this power directly to the student?

I think it is fair to say students are going to easily find distractions from their work. Giving them access to YouTube would only expand their options. But what if we monitored and guided what they viewed on YouTube. Instead of simply monitoring the classroom's use of YouTube by stalking around the classroom, they could go even further. Before the beginning of a less, the teacher could provide links to useful videos on YouTube that are relevant to the lesson and provide students with a further understanding of the subject. That way it will be more difficult for students to stray from the assignment on YouTube without completely blocking its uses. YouTube is most likely a distraction, but it could possibly be a blessing.

Here is an example of a video that could be used to help English student's gain an understanding of Bram Stroker's Dracula in an interesting and comedic form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juu-7H0Z2RU

Wix

Wix lets people create their own website for free. There are hundreds of temples that people could easily customize. People could customize every category they have on their website. People use Wix to create their own business website or just for fun. People could add pictures, color fronts, videos and anything they want. Wix lets people upload their own pictures. People could set up their own online store and connect all their social media easily. Wix even lets you add other websites that you want to add to your page. Anyone could easily log into your website using any devices.  This website focuses on students that are enrolled in economy class. Teachers would introduce to students how online store businesses aren't difficult.  This would help students understand the types of advertisement they need to attract more people to their business. The teacher could explain how people are looking for cheaper items and sharing their favorite online store on social media. Students could create their own online store as a project. This will teach them becoming  consumers and economist that would prepare them for their real online store in the future. This is a great way students could learn about management system too. Overall, Wix provides a great source for teachers, students, and for all of us. 

http://www.wix.com

Duolingo: Learn Languages for Free

Many people in America are very interested in learning a new language but think they cannot learn one or they simply do not have the tools and resources to assist in doing so. With an ever-expanding world economy, increasing demands from our businesses and schools, as well as a growing diversity in America, many people have no choice but to learn a second language.  Many popular language teaching programs or software like Rosetta Stone are limited to where they are sold or are very expensive, with prices ranging from upwards of $500 or more, making it very unlikely that everyone who wants to learn a new language will. Fortunately, an easier, and less expensive option has emerged. A cell phone application has been created to aid in helping us learn a new language straight from the palm of our hands. Duolingo, an app that I am familiar with and have used before, is an app that can be downloaded to your cell phone (unfortunately this app is only compatible with Android devices). This app has received great acclaim and multiple good reviews from its users and renowned magazines like TIME and The Wall Street Journal found on the Google Play store.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.duolingo&hl=en
 Listed below are several features that this app has to offer:

• Absolutely free, no fees, no adds.
• Proven effectiveness; 34 hours of Duolingo are equivalent to a semester of university-level education.
• Learn Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Dutch, Irish, Italian, and many more languages. 

This app is unique because it engages the user in different games and activities and challenges that requires them to recall information and repetition is constantly used throughout so that the new information is used immediately. The user can keep track of their progress and earn medals for accomplishing goals. I would recommend this to anyone interested in learning a new language but not knowing where to start.

Google Collaborations in the Classroom

A huge proponent of my education thus far at The University of Michigan- Dearborn has been the use of Google's various Microsoft Office type programs: sheets, docs, slides and drive. The great aspect of the workstation google offers for FREE, (unlike Microsoft Office's costly option) is the ability to collaborate with fellow students and colleagues on assignments. Group work is a trend that is on the upswing according to the courses I've taken throughout college. Personally, I've always had an issue with group work due to the fact it felt like either I did all the work or felt like I didn't contribute as equally as my teammates. With the ability to work independently from home and see edits your teammates make, it is much easier to evenly distribute the work load and see who has contributed what to the group. Google really did a good job on this one!

Wonderopolis.org

I want to teach elementary school grades 3-5 and my major is Language Arts. When I found Wonderopolis.org I thought it was a great way to get kids to read, and write.  Wonderopolis.org is a website packed with information on multiple subjects. Articles that include videos, pictures, and vocabulary quizzes on topics such as; How do CD’s Work or How is Addition like Subtraction could be found. It features light reading for grades 3 and up. Another cool feature is Camp Wonderopolis. Adults can create their own online camp where “counselors can select the my campers tab to add campers and keep track of their progress”. Students (or campers) can “go camping” by exploring different areas of the online camp. After learning about a subject students can take short quizzes to earn wonder cards and you can share you experiences on the wonder wall. Camp Wonder uses STEM-based explorations. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. These 4 disciplines are taught together rather than separate. Wonderopolis.org does a good job at integrating STEM-based learning in each Topic. It even has mini activities using everyday objects that relate to the given topic.

http://wonderopolis.org/